Judge offers clues on how he may frame key spill decision

Updated 10:59 pm, Wednesday, April 24, 2013

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U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier of New Orleans poses in this undated handout photo released to the media on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012. How much BP Plc will pay for the 2010 explosion of a Gulf of Mexico oil rig that killed 11 people and caused the largest offshore spill in U.S. history may rest in the hands of Barbier, a former maritime lawyer who began his career representing sailors in personal-injury cases. Source: Office of Judge Barbier via Bloomberg EDITOR'S NOTE. NO SALES. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. less

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier of New Orleans poses in this undated handout photo released to the media on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012. How much BP Plc will pay for the 2010 explosion of a Gulf of Mexico oil rig ... more

Photo: Via Bloomberg, 990613

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U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier of New Orleans poses in this undated handout photo released to the media on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012. How much BP Plc will pay for the 2010 explosion of a Gulf of Mexico oil rig that killed 11 people and caused the largest offshore spill in U.S. history may rest in the hands of Barbier, a former maritime lawyer who began his career representing sailors in personal-injury cases. Source: Office of Judge Barbier via Bloomberg EDITOR'S NOTE. NO SALES. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. less

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier of New Orleans poses in this undated handout photo released to the media on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012. How much BP Plc will pay for the 2010 explosion of a Gulf of Mexico oil rig ... more

Photo: Via Bloomberg, 990613

Judge offers clues on how he may frame key spill decision

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The federal judge who must decide whether BP and its partners were grossly negligent in connection with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill is offering some clues as to how he may formulate his decision.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier issued an order Wednesday setting dates by which lawyers for the companies must file conclusions about the evidence presented during the first phase of a civil trial in New Orleans that ended earlier this month.

In the order, he asked the attorneys to answer seven questions dealing with the subject of gross negligence. If BP, Transocean or Halliburton are found to have been grossly negligent, they could face billions of dollars in punitive damages.

Among Barbier's questions:

1 Can an act or omission that is not itself causal of the accident be considered in determining whether a party engaged in conduct constituting gross negligence?

1 In order to find gross negligence, is it sufficient if only employees on the rig are guilty of such conduct, or is it necessary to find that this level of conduct was attributable to shore-based or management-level employees?

1 Does the fact that a party acted in accordance with "industry standards" preclude a finding of gross negligence?

"These topics are offered merely to provide some guidance to the parties," Barbier wrote.

Barbier's questions could have implications for all three companies.

Halliburton, an oil field services firm that provided the cement used to plug the BP well that blew out off the coast of Louisiana, has acknowledged not turning over cement samples that plaintiffs argue should have been available more than two years ago. And a worker admitted during the trial he was instructed to destroy records of cement testing that he did after the accident. Neither of those omissions caused the disaster because they occurred afterward, but they could be used to weaken Halliburton's defense to the gross negligence claims.

Crew members aboard the Transocean-owned Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded after the well blew out were accused during the trial of making critical mistakes in the minutes before and after the explosion that exacerbated the situation. The captain, in particular, was described as not up to the job by a maritime expert who testified on behalf of BP. Transocean is a Swiss drilling contractor.

And BP has defended many of its actions as being in accordance with industry standards, though various independent investigations and experts who testified at the trial have faulted the British oil giant for not complying with some company and government standards.

The three companies have denied they were grossly negligent and have accused each other of mistakes that contributed to the disaster. In an acknowledgement of the risk of letting Barbier decide the issue, Halliburton said this week that it is in advanced talks to settle a substantial portion of private claims against the company.

Barbier has not said when he will rule. He is giving the parties nearly three months to file their conclusions and proposed findings of fact, as well as replies to those briefs.

The first phase of the trial was designed to apportion blame for the disaster and determine whether any of the companies were grossly negligent. The second phase, which is set to begin in September, will address the amount of oil that spilled. Based on that finding, BP could face billions of dollars more in Clean Water Act fines.

Eleven rig workers were killed in the explosion. The oil spill that resulted was the worst offshore U.S. oil spill ever.